At the end of the Spring Half term holiday we ran a Div 2/3 slalom on the whitewater course. Unusually this year we got a flood of entries well before the closing date, and we closed entries three weeks before the competition. This is a big help, as it enables us to plan the timetable, order the trophies,etc, knowing our numbers. It also reduces the rush on the Saturday and Sunday mornings trying to get the startlist prepared so that the event could start on time.
We start setting up on the Thursday, and because more people turned up to help than I was expecting, we not only got the course up, but all the phone wires as well. Thanks very much to those who helped. On Friday morning we were very glad we had already done almost all the outside setting up, as it rained for most of the day.
We were expecting a lot of people to turn up and camp on Friday, and by 6 o.clock were wondering where they were. The dual carriageway was suspiciously quiet too. It turned out there had been an accident, and the A45 was closed between junction 15 and the Queen Eleanor roundabout. This, plus the M1 roadworks, added a couple of hours to many competitors. journeys – not a great start to the weekend. We had a good number of helpers on Saturday and Sunday, and managed to run to time both days, which with a full entry was essential. Thanks again to all of the helpers. The weather was better for the weekend too, which always helps. The full entry also meant we managed to produce a small profit on the event, which is always welcome.
Alan.
